Duncan passes Bird on all-time scoring

As Tim Duncan's career winds down, we start to get a sense of just where he stands in NBA history. Wednesday night that became a bit clearer as Duncan passed Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list at No.27 with 17 points against the Houston Rockets, making his total 21,798 for his career.

Project Spurs does have some context to provide in regards to how quickly Bird and Duncan hit this mark.

Once Duncan passes Bird, the next player is Gary Payton (ranked 26th) with 21,813 points which TD should be able to surpass this season.

Also, it should be noted Bird scored this career points in fewer games (897) while TD scored his career points in 1,063 games and counting.

Also notable, Duncan is behind Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Dirk Nowitzki on the list among his contemporaries. Proof of how great the players of the last fifteen years have been.

Duncan's relatively low ranking is emblematic of his real impact, as a player that did everything on the floor. He's 22nd all-time in rebounds. Tenth all time in blocks. His impact on both ends was greater than any metric can adequately portray, and I'm a pretty metrics-based guy.

Duncan continues to put his stamp on the career of the best power forward in NBA history.

Duncan passes Bird on all-time scoring

Tim Duncan is the best power forward of all time. His accomplishments and impact go far beyond what his statistics say. The guy is a winner with multiple championships, a team player, no ego, and has always made players around him better. I have had countless arguments with people who try and tell me that Kevin Garnett is better than TD, it makes me sick. Garnett is a great player with a great career but he was never better than Tim Duncan. TD has always been one of my favorites (even though he destroyed my Knicks in the 1999 finals) and I respect all of his accomplishments and I wish more people did as well. His game was never flashy and he wasn't a very marketable player and because of that many people do not give him the credit that deserves.

hookcood
Since: Jan 12, 2012

Posted on: January 12, 2012 2:48 pm

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Since: Aug 30, 2006

Posted on: January 12, 2012 1:15 pm

Duncan passes Bird on all-time scoring

Lets go a bit futher doper. No one has more rings than Bill Russell and he's not even close to being on the top 100 of all time scorers. Like you probably are, I'm sooooo tired of the Kobe salad tossing....

Since: Apr 13, 2009

Posted on: January 12, 2012 12:34 pm

Duncan passes Bird on all-time scoring

Congrats Tim; you've always been a class act (even if you are a spur).

gootyook
Since: Jan 12, 2012

Posted on: January 12, 2012 11:15 am

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Since: Oct 16, 2011

Posted on: January 12, 2012 10:23 am

Duncan passes Bird on all-time scoring

But among his contemporaries only Kobe has more RINGS! (I'm not counting bench or roll players even if their great like Derek Fisher)

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